Sentry & The Void: The Duality of a Supervillain and Mankind

In Thunderbolts* coming May 2, we will meet Sentry and his dark altar-ego, The Void. Marvel has made two trailers to date, and both introduce us to "Bob" or Robert Reynolds. Do we really know much about him?

As nerds, many Christians should learn because his duality reminds us of the person we see in the mirror, though in a less "one of the most powerful beings in the universe" manner.

Robert Reynolds is a misanthrope addicted to drugs. In high school, he suffered from schizophrenia and high anxiety. He's depressed and lives in the shadows. Regardless of where he is or what he is doing, the thought of finding his next fix is never absent from his mind.

One day, he happens upon a beaker of this tantalizing ooze and thinks it will get him over for the next few hours. It was an experimental version of the Super-Soldier Serum (called the "Golden Sentry" serum), and the rest is Marvel Comics history.

The Sentry is a persona from deep within Bob. The Golden Sentry Serum mutates his genetic code to something remarkably closer to Kryptonian. Yet, The Void is a persona of The Sentry, not Robert Reynolds. And it is one of the most malevolent forces in the known universe.

Then there's "The Void," which remains a mystery to most fans if they're being honest. Discovering this troika of personality angst will be a remarkable voyage with Marvel Studios, but what does that have to do with us? Just about everything.

Meet The Sentry

The immortal Sentry is what we wish we were. (Credit: Brian Michael Bendis/David Finch via "New Avengers No. 3")

He's a star of the Marvel Comics Universe and is said to have the power of "a million exploding suns." But his story wouldn't be as bright as we hoped. Initially, Bob was given a derivative of Captain America's super soldier serum because it was synthetically made of the Mutant Growth Hormone, Hank Pym particles, gamma enhancements, and the "Connors Formula" (remember the Lizard). Then, the potency was supercharged.

He has god-like powers. So much so that The Sentry doesn't understand reality. At one time, he had everything Superman had, but that wasn't badass enough, so when Brian Michael Bendis brought The Sentry back during the Dark Avengers (2009-2013), he was given the ability to warp reality and manipulate molecules.

The Sentry possesses a remarkable ability to transform his surroundings using his mind—a talent that even confounds Jean Grey. This power grants him immortality, enabling him to reconstruct and regenerate by rearranging his molecules if he is destroyed. This event involving the super soldier serum also links him to Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier, John Walker/U.S. Agent, Alexei Andreovitch Shostakov/Red Guardian, and Isaiah Bradley.

Considering Robert Reynolds' emotional and mental fragility, The Sentry is everything Bob wants to be. He's never been noticed, counted upon, adored, or even respected. He's not strong enough in his own might to come close to what The Sentry can do, but with imagination and inspiration, "all things are possible to him that believes" (Mark 9:23).

While God isn't going to drop some of the Golden Sentry Serum in our Red Bull, he believes we can do far more than we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:19-21). There is something inside each of us waiting to get out. There are those times when we surprise ourselves with actions, thoughts, or dreams. "I had no idea I could do this that good." Well, someone did.

Meet The Void

The sinister Void is everything we wish were not. (Credit: Jae Lee, writer/Paul Jenkins, illustrator via Marvel Comics)

Villains are bad. Some are fierce. But The Void is no-holds-barred evil, and he stops at nothing to protect The Sentry. Marvel defines this halfway split like this:

"The Void believes he is integral to the Sentry's survival. As the Sentry's power hinges on his emotions, any individual could crush him if the Void were not there to kill them. Once the Sentry found that the Void was a different entity, he took the void and threw him into the sun, but the Sentry still fears his return."

The Void has all the powers of The Sentry, but he uses every ounce of sinister intention to kill anyone in his path. After Bob reached the high of a millennium, all trace of the new serum was destroyed because there was no telling what would happen. It was The Sentry. But when Bob was being hunted by the government, then The Void happened. And that's when things got exponentially worse.

The Void embodies Reynolds' anger, guilt, hatred, and disdain for both humanity and himself. It can transform into shadows and create dreadful visions that would amaze even the Scarlet Witch. The Void can seize control whenever The Sentry is threatened, causing chaos and destruction. Imagine The Hulk without the uncontrollable transformation.

The Sentry and Robert Reynolds are genuinely their own greatest enemies—and a threat to anyone in their way. Sound like anyone you know?

I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t. I do what I don’t want to—what I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience proves that I agree with these laws I am breaking. But I can’t help myself because I’m no longer doing it. It is sin inside me that is stronger than I am that makes me do these evil things.

I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn I can’t make myself do right. I want to but I can’t. When I want to do good, I don’t; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. Now if I am doing what I don’t want to, it is plain where the trouble is: sin still has me in its evil grasp.

(Romans 7:15-20 TLB)

Meeting Each Other

It's not nearly as cool when we do it. (Credit: Jae Lee, writer/Paul Jenkins, illustrator via Marvel Comics)

If successfully executed on film, Robert Reynolds' internal conflict will provide captivating entertainment for enthusiasts. Bob is aware of his alter-ego, The Sentry, but he is unaware that the Golden Guardian has his own duality to contend with.

Once the Void left me, the two angels came. Pulled me from the light, to return to this chaotic room with its malodorous flavors. But gloriously free of the entirety of my sadness and failure, I am reborn—I am life, in death!

The Sentry, "Uncanny Avengers," Vol. 11 (2012)

In Marvel Comics' lore, Robert Reynolds and company encounter the Atlanteans, the Avengers, Norman Osborn, the Defenders, and, of course, the Thunderbolts. Kevin Feige is going somewhere with this introduction. Give Feige a chance to re-earn your trust.

So are we.

The "duality of man" is primarily a theological idea. Comics adopt this notion from the examination of God's teachings and his divinity. We possess a physical body alongside a spiritual soul. Within each of us, there is a constant struggle between good and evil, love and hate, God and our inner adversary. And then, there's Satan.

Robert Reynolds encountered his inner demons due to a mutated Super-Soldier Serum. Our demons are inherent. Some might attempt to drink to silence their influence and voices, but that seldom succeeds.

As we will discover, it takes much more for The Void to shut down. The Sentry even reformulates his psyche and removes his memories. But he keeps coming back with force. That should sound familiar, too.

"Flee from evil and do good, and dwell forever" (Psalm 37:27 GNB)